Method for making resilient tubing

ABSTRACT

A method for forming a tubular member includes preparing a longitudinal Teflon strap, winding the Teflon strap around a longitudinal core to form a tubular prototype having two or more layers, and welding the two or more layers of the Teflon strap together to form the tubular member. The layers of the Teflon strap are preferably arranged at different angles or inclined relative to each other, or arranged at different angles with respect to the longitudinal axis of the core or of the elongate tubular member. The tubular member may further be shaped to various shapes or configurations with such as extending, stretching, expanding, enlarging, or shaping process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method, and more particularly to a method for making tubings or tubular members having suitable resilience for allowing the tubings or tubular members to be enlarged or expanded to suitable or required dimensions or diameters or shapes.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Typical tubings or tubular members or shafts may be made of composite materials or graphite fiber reinforced resin materials, and may comprise an oblong sheet or gore cut from a sheet of unidirectional graphite fibers impregnated with a plastic resin, which will be subjected with a hot-pressing process, to have the unidirectional graphite fibers and the impregnated plastic resin to be hardened or cured to form the tubings or tubular members or shafts.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,819 to Van Auken discloses one of the typical golf club shafts made of unidirectional graphite fibers and the impregnated plastic resin. However, due to the impregnated plastic resin, and after the hot-pressing process, the shaft will include a great hardness or stiffness that is non-flexible, and that may not be bent, and that may not be deformed or shaped to the other shapes or configurations.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,623 to Bevan et al. discloses one of the typical rubber tubing made or produced or formed from extruding latex, and a number of complicated molding devices and valve devices and water jackets are required for forming or making the typical rubber tubings. Similarly, after the molding or mold injection process, the rubber tubing will also include a great hardness or stiffness that is non-flexible, and that may not be bent, and that may not be deformed or shaped to the other shapes or configurations.

The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional methods for making or forming tubings or tubular members.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making tubings or tubular members having suitable resilience for allowing the tubings or tubular members to be enlarged or expanded to suitable or required dimensions or diameters or shapes.

The other objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making tubings or tubular members having suitable resilience for allowing the tubings or tubular members to be used as auxiliary or artificial blood vessels, trachea, or other bioengineering uses, or the like.

The further objective of the present invention is to provide a method for making tubings or tubular members having a number of orifices or perforations formed therein, for allowing the tubings or tubular members to be used as a filter device.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for forming a tubular member, the method comprising preparing a longitudinal Teflon strap, winding the Teflon strap around a longitudinal core, to form a tubular prototype having at least two layers, and welding the two layers together to form the tubular member. The two layers may also be secured together with such as hot-pressing processes, or adhering processes, or the like.

The Teflon membrane or strap may include a number of orifices or perforations formed therein, for allowing air to flow through the Teflon membrane or strap, and for allowing the Teflon membrane or strap 11 to be used as a filter member.

The layers of the Teflon strap are arranged at different angles or inclined relative to each other, or arranged at different angles with respect to the longitudinal axis of the core or of the elongate tubular member.

The tubular member may further be shaped to various shapes or configurations or structures or dimensions or outer diameters. For example, the tubular member may be extended, stretched, expanded, enlarged, or shaped into various shapes or configurations or structures or dimensions or outer diameters.

The core may be removed or disengaged from the tubing or tubular member before or after the welding process, or the hot-pressing process, or the adhering process, to allow the tubular member to be extended, stretched, expanded, enlarged, or shaped into various shapes or configurations or structures or dimensions or outer diameters.

Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided hereinbelow, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view illustrating a tubular member to be made with a method in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial perspective view of the tubular member;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a stretching or extending process for the tubular member;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view illustrating an expanding or enlarging process for the tubular member;

FIG. 5 is a further partial perspective view illustrating a shaping or expanding and stretching or extending process for the tubular member; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation procedures or processes of the method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, a method in accordance with the present invention is provided for forming or making or manufacturing an elongate tubular member 10 with an elongate or longitudinal Teflon or tetrafluoro-ethylene membrane or strap 11, which may include a suitable resilience for allowing the elongate tubular member 10 of tetrafluoro-ethylene or Teflon materials to also include a suitable resilience and thus to be expandable or stretchable. The elongate or longitudinal Teflon or tetrafluoro-ethylene membrane or strap 11 may be prepared or formed in a process 30 as shown in FIG. 6.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the Teflon or tetrafluoro-ethylene membrane or strap 11 is wound around an elongate or longitudinal core 20 (FIG. 1), in a winding process 31 as shown in FIG. 6, to form a tubular prototype 10 having one or more layers 12 (FIG. 2). It is preferable that the layers 12 of the Teflon or tetrafluoro-ethylene membrane or strap 11 are arranged at different angles with respect to the longitudinal axis 22 of the core 20 and/or of the elongate tubular member 10, such as ranging from 15 to 75 degrees, and/or inclined relative to each other.

For example, the first layer 12 of the tetrafluoro-ethylene or Teflon membrane or strap 11 may be arranged at about 15 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis 22 of the core 20 and/or of the elongate tubular member 10, and the second layer 12 of the Teflon or tetrafluoro-ethylene membrane or strap 11 may then be arranged at about 60 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis 22 of the core 20 and/or of the elongate tubular member 10, or about 45 degrees with respect to the first layer 12, and the third layer 12 may also be arranged at different angles with respect to the longitudinal axis 22 of the core 20 and/or of the elongate tubular member 10 and the other layers 12.

After the multi-layered prototype or tubular member 10 as shown in FIG. 2 is formed, the multi-layered prototype or tubular member 10 may then be conducted or subjected with a welding process, or the layers 12 of the tetrafluoro-ethylene or Teflon membrane or strap 11 will then be secured together with a welding process, such as a supersonic or ultrasonic welding process, or a hot-pressing process, or an adhering process with adhering agents or the like, in a process 32 as shown in FIG. 6.

The layers 12 of the tetrafluoro-ethylene or Teflon membrane or strap 11 may thus be secured together to form the tubing or tubular member 10 having a resilient and flexible characteristic. The core 20 may be removed or disengaged from the thus formed tubing or tubular member 10 before or after the welding process, or the hot-pressing process, or the adhering process, in order to form a bore 14 within the tubing or tubular member 10, best shown in FIGS. 2-5. None of the typical tubular members have been formed by a number layers 12 of tetrafluoro-ethylene or Teflon membrane or strap 11 that are welded or secured together.

The Teflon membrane or strap 11, when viewed with a microscope, will include or will be formed with a number of fibers each having a number of nodes formed therein, and the nodes may be reduced when the Teflon membrane or strap 11 is stretched or extended, to allow the fibers to be lengthened, such that the Teflon membrane or strap 11 may include a suitable stretchability for allowing the Teflon membrane or strap 11 to further be suitably stretched or extended or lengthened.

It is to be noted that, when also viewed with a microscope, the Teflon membrane or strap 11 will include a number of orifices or perforations formed therein, for allowing air to flow through the Teflon membrane or strap 11, and for allowing some smaller fluid elements to flow through the Teflon membrane or strap 11, such that the Teflon membrane or strap 11 may be used as a filter member, and may also be used to allow only pure water to flow through the Teflon membrane or strap 11.

As shown in FIGS. 3-6, the resilient and flexible tubing or tubular member 10 may then be subjected with various processes 33, such as extended or stretched process (FIG. 3), or enlarged or expanded process (FIG. 4), or extended or stretched and enlarged or expanded and shaped process (FIG. 5), and/or further heating or hot-pressing process to form the tubing or tubular member 10 having the required shape or configuration or structure or dimension or outer diameters.

The resilient and flexible tubing or tubular member 10 may also be engaged onto various objects, such as electric parts or members, to form a protective outer covering for the objects, for example. In addition, the resilient and flexible tubing or tubular member 10 may include a suitable air permeability and may include a suitable resilience or stretchability, such that the resilient and flexible tubing or tubular member 10 may be used as auxiliary or artificial blood vessels, trachea, or other bioengineering uses, or the like.

Accordingly, the method in accordance with the present invention may be provided for making tubings or tubular members having suitable resilience for allowing the tubings or tubular members to be enlarged or expanded to suitable or required dimensions or diameters or shapes.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detailed construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. 

1. A method for forming a tubular member, said method comprising: preparing a longitudinal Teflon strap, winding said Teflon strap around a longitudinal core, to form a tubular prototype having at least two layers, and welding said at least two layers together to form said tubular member.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least two layers of said Teflon strap are arranged at different angles relative to each other.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising shaping said tubular member.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tubular member is extended.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tubular member is stretched.
 6. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tubular member is expanded.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said tubular member is enlarged.
 8. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising removing said core from said tubular member. 